Forgotten feelings
by ankaz123
Summary: Shannon and Lawson had a fling three years ago and forgot about each other, but what happens when Shannon is the newest member of Lawson's TR team. REDITED AND REDONE!   from chapter 3
1. Chapter 1

Acknowledging feelings

**Note: this is all my imagination....I'm not sure if this is what happened in the actual show. Anyway hope you enjoy....xx**

Chapter 1:

_Three years before..._

Shannon was sitting on the kerb outside the station crying. How could she have let Justine die? She had bought into the station just the day before for drug possession, even though Shannon could tell she was an underage prostitute. Shannon was the one who had pushed for her release. How did she end up _dead_ in an alley? It was her fault Justine had been on the streets. She would still be alive if she was still in the cells inside.

Shannon let out another quiet sob and wiped her eyes with her hands. Suddenly she left a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and Senior Constable Lawson Blake looking down at her with a concerned smile. They had worked together on a few patrols before but Lawson had always seemed distant and cold around her. She was surprised to see him worried about her.

"Shannon, are you ok?" he asked her with a gentle smile.

Shannon sniffled and swallowed hard. "Yeah I am, thanks for asking though".

"Ok, well I feel like a drink, wanna join me?" he asked with a glint of mischief in his eyes.

"Umm sure, I guess I could do with one as well" she replied wiping her eyes again.

"Great, c'mon" he said, extending his hand to her. She took it and he pulled her up.

They made their way to the local pub and Shannon sat at one of the stools while Lawson ordered the drinks. He came back with two beers and some vodka shots.

"What's bothering you Shannon?" he asked sipping his beer.

Shannon looked into his eyes and saw the genuine concern.

"It's the girl that we found dead in the alley today. Her name was Justine, she came in yesterday and I was the one who pushed for her release. It's all my fault she was on the streets, if she hadn't been, then she wouldn't be dead" Shannon exclaimed, her voice quivering.

"Oh Shan" he said soothingly. Shannon looked up at him, surprised that he gave her a nickname. "It wasn't you fault ok? Don't worry about it, we will find who did this to her".

Shannon nodded and smiled in appreciation. After a few glasses of beer and some more vodka shots, Lawson declared he would walk Shannon home. When they arrived at Shannon's front door, Shannon fumbled for the keys but eventually opened the door. She invited Lawson in but he declined kindly.

"Well ok, but thanks for tonight, just the distraction I needed" she said grinning brightly at him.

"No problem, it was nice to have someone to talk to" he replied beaming at her.

Without thinking, Shannon took a step towards him and gave Lawson a deep kiss. She expected Lawson to pull her off and storm off but she was pleasantly surprised when he returned the kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. He welcomed it and rested his hands on her waist. Eventually Shannon pulled away and looked at his face. Lawson just smiled at her and she took his hand and led him inside. Lawson followed and closed the front door behind him.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

_In the present......._

Shannon zipped up her vest and slammed the locker door shut. She had a horrible morning as her alarm didn't go off and by the time she woke up she had only had fifteen minutes to get into work for her second day with the Tactical Response team, so she skipped breakfast and a shower. She looked into the mirror hanging on the locker room wall and saw how messy her hair looked.

"Shit" she exclaimed brushing down the frizziness with her hands. Stella walked in and saw her and couldn't help but giggle.

Shannon heard her and turned around blushing and burst out laughing as well.

"Sorry" she said "I've just had a crap morning, that's all".

"Don't worry" replied Stella "we have all had those. You're with Michel and Lawson today" she added.

Shannon groaned quietly, nodded in thanks and walked out of the locker room, towards the cars. Ever since she arrived at the TR and seen Lawson after three years, she felt awkward. They had worked together at a police station before without problems, but since they slept together, it had been weird. Shannon had been grateful when she was transferred to the AFP, hoping not to see Lawson again....until yesterday. Now he was a senior sergeant and she was a senior constable as well as the newest member of his team.

She didn't know how she felt towards him, she didn't exactly _hate_ him, but she didn't exactly _love_ him either. She was just thankful that no-one just in the TR team knew about her past with their team leader.

* * *

Lawson leant against the driver's door of the TR car deep in thought. He couldn't believe his eyes when he found out that Shannon was joining the team. She was a good cop; no doubt, when they had worked together at the station a few years ago she proved that to him. He remembered her as caring, sensitive yet alert and smart. He remembered that night that Shannon was upset; they went to the pub, got plastered and one thing led to another.

He didn't expect that she would be part of his team and he knew how awkward things were between them. He had thought about how they left things after that night. They had just pretended like it never happened, but Lawson wouldn't have declined a relationship with her either, but then she had gotten transferred and he didn't see her again. His thoughts were interuppeted by Shannon walking towards him with a blank look on her face.

"Morning" he simply said.

"Morning" she replied, only giving him a quick glance. "Where's Michel?" she asked.

"Ah, something came up and we gotta go pick him up" Lawson replied, opening the driver seat door.

"Great (!)" whispered Shannon to herself as opened the passenger's door and sat down.

As they were driving, Lawson glanced at Shannon and saw that she was staring out the window with her arms folded.

"So how have you been? It's been a while" he asked her gently.

Shannon rolled her eyes "yeah I've been good. But then again it _has_ been three years" she said with a hint of laughter in her voice. This broke the ice and Lawson felt more comfortable with her now. "What about you? What have you been doing?" she asked him.

"Well I was at the station a little longer and then I was chosen to head the TR team. What about you? Where were you transferred?"

"Well I was transferred to the AFP, which was good- I learnt heaps. Then I got the call that I was chosen to join the Tactical Response team, whose leader was none other than the famous Lawson Blake" she giggled. Lawson remembered Shannon's sense of humour- another thing he liked about her.

He glanced over at her and smiled. Shannon had leant her head back against the head rest and was beaming back at him.

"Well Shan" he said calling her by the nickname he had given her "it's good to see you again".

"Yeah, it's good to see you again too Lawson" she said starring into his eyes.

Lawson pulled up in front of a large house and beeped the horn.

"Wow, big house" Shannon commented, coming out of her trance.

Lawson laughed and she looked at him, confused.

"That's because Michel still lives with his parents" he explained, beeping the horn twice. The front door opened and out ran Michel, his shirt still unbuttoned, swinging his backpack over his shoulder. He opened the back door and jumped into the seat behind Shannon.

"Thanks again for this guys" Michel said flustered. He started buttoning up his shirt and did his seatbelt.

"Uh huh, but Michel, don't make it a regular thing" Lawson instructed Michel turning in his seat and looked back at Michel.

"Look I'm sorry Lawson, but my dad collapsed and I had to wait with my mum until an ambulance came. That's why I didn't have time to get dressed, let alone get into work. "

"Then why the hell are you here?" Lawson asked him. "Take the day off, go to the hospital and be with them. We will even drive you there".

Michel looked shocked and gratefully smiled at Lawson.

* * *

When they pulled up the front of the hospital, Michel thanked Lawson again, grabbed his bag and made his way into the hospital, closing the car door behind him.

"Wow" said Shannon as she watching Michel walking through the sliding hospital doors.

"What?" Lawson asked, glancing at her.

"I didn't expect that" she replied "that was really nice though, I'm proud of you Lawson" she said giving him a grin. When Lawson heard this, he felt his spirits lifted and he smiled to himself.

**Note: I know it's a little long...got carried away....haha...anyway hope you are enjoying and please remember to review!...................xx**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

**I've gotten rid of a few chapters because I didn't really like the direction in which this story was heading so I decided to cut a few chapters and continue from here. I hope you enjoy it and I plan to update a little sooner now, so please remember to REVIEW and stay tuned!**

Lawson and Shannon had been driving around for a good hour and decided to stop for a coffee. They pulled up outside a little cafe and they both stepped out of the car. Shannon walked ahead of Lawson, who had sat down at the metal table outside.

"What do you want?" she asked him.

"Ah, just a strong black and maybe a muffin or something" he replied, giving her a quick glance, before sitting back in the chair and crossing his arms.

Shannon just nodded and entered the shop. She smiled at the young girl behind the register and ordered their coffees and two muffins. Paying the girl, she walked back outside and sat down opposite Lawson, who was busy looking through his phone.

"Is it normally this slow in TR?" she joked with a smile.

Lawson glanced up at her with a small smile on his lips "nahh, today is just a slow one, but don't speak too soon, something will come up, don't you worry".

The young girl from inside came out and bought them their take-away coffees and muffins in a paper bag.

"Oi, chocolate is mine!" exclaimed Shannon with a small laugh, reaching for the double chocolate muffin, which Lawson had pulled out from the paper bag. "I got you blueberry" she added cheekily.

"Gee, thanks" he said sarcastically, taking the other paper bag and munching on the muffin inside.

Shannon just giggled and went back to sipping her coffee and her muffin.

Lawson looked up at her admiringly. Her laugh was melodious and her smile simply gorgeous, her eyes were the most beautiful and deep he had ever seen, not to mention her body... Lawson quickly snapped out of this trance and mentally slapped himself. How could he think about her this way? She was his colleague that's all. It was already awkward for them to work together- given their history, without him thinking about her in this way.

Shannon realised that something was bothering Lawson and she frown slightly.

"You alright Lawson" she asked him, raising an eyebrow.

Lawson quickly looked at her and cleared his throat "uh huh, yep, I'm fine, we better get back to it" he added quickly jumping to his feet and walking over to the TR car and sitting in the passenger seat.

Shannon groaned quietly and stood up and followed Lawson into the car. She had done up her seatbelt and was about to ask Lawson what was bothering him when Leon voice interrupted her over the radio.

"Guys, we got a multiple MVA on the corner of Harvey Rd and Grey Avenue, you're the closest assets".

"Right Leon, we're on it" replied Lawson quickly into the radio.

…

Shannon and Lawson arrived at the crash scene to find a blue commodore had smashed into the front of a red Subaru while a black ford and a silver merc were mashed together. Both Shannon and Lawson jumped out of the car and Shannon pulled out the medical kit from the boot and headed straight for the commodore and saw that a man was hunched over the steering wheel. She went straight to the open window and reached inside, putting her fingers to the man's neck, feeling for a pulse. A rush of relief filled her as she felt a thready weak pulse underneath her fingertips. She quickly pulled on the blue latex gloves and gently lifted the man's head. he had cuts all over his face but he let out a small groan and slowly opened his eyes to look at Shannon.

"My….my" the man stuttered.

"Sir" Shannon said calmly "you've been in an accident, I need you to stay still for me". in her earpiece, she heard Lawson call the other TR car for back-up.

"My….kids" the man finally managed to say.

Shannon was filled with alarm and fear as she quickly glanced behind the driver to the back seat and saw a young boy sitting in a booster seat with his head down and a teenage girl with her head against the window, unconscious.

Shannon quickly ran to the side and opened the door on the boy's side.

"Lawson!" she screamed desperately into the radio " I need your help"

She felt for a pulse but couldn't find one, she quickly undid the seatbelt of the booster seat and picked up the boy she carried him out and laid him gently down on the ground. Suddenly she saw Lawson running towards her; he came over and knelt down next to the boy.

"We need to do CPR, when's the backup coming? There another teenager stuck in there, not to mention the father" Shannon explained frantically.

"I don't know, I've made the call and they should be coming" Lawson replied.

"Ok, I'll take breaths and you do compressions"

Lawson nodded while Shannon gave the boy three breaths.

Lawson did 15 compressions and on the last one the boy gave a little cough, signalling he was back.

Shannon gave a loud sigh of relief and stroked the boy's hair, just as the sound of sirens filled the air.

Lawson glanced at Shannon; her eyes were full of relief and kindness as she looked down at the boy. He couldn't help but feel something stirring deep inside….


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

**Review! Please enjoy and stay tuned for the next chapter..**

Shannon exhaled loudly as she closed the door of her locker. She was so tired after an eventful day. The two kids had been taken to hospital as well as their father. The other drivers had been the only ones in their cars when the accident had happened. One had unfortunately died at the scene. Shannon did up her jacket zipper and threw her bag on her shoulder. She was just looking forward to collapsing on her bed and going to sleep. She walked out of the change rooms when she came face to face with Lawson.

"Great job today" he told her with a small smile.

"Thanks" she replied returning the smile.

"So…the team and I are going down to the pub for a drink, you want to come?" he asked her, trying not to sound too desperate.

"Ah….sorry Lawson, but after today I'm just knackered, I need to go to bed. Maybe another time?" she asked apologetically.

"Yeah sure….I understand" Lawson replied, trying to hide his disappointment.

Shannon gave him one last smile and walked past Lawson, out of the change rooms, down the corridor, towards her car. Suddenly she heard Kerry call out her name from behind her; Shannon couldn't help but groan quietly to herself as she turned around and started back towards her boss.

"Shannon, can I talk to you in my office?" Kerry asked, with a solemn look on her face. Shannon felt a tiny pang of fear in her stomach as she followed Kerry into the office. Had she done something wrong?

Kerry closed the door behind Shannon and then went and stood in front of Shannon.

"Shannon, the family you helped rescue today….." Kerry started.

"Yeah, the man, the little boy and the teenage girl?" Shannon asked, suddenly interested in where this conversation was going.

"Yeah" Kerry replied, "the boys name was Jack, the girl was Lucy and the father's name was Aaron, Aaron Matthews"

"Ok….." Shannon said "what about them? Did something happen to them in hospital? Are they ok?"

"Ah…." Kerry started, obviously unsure of how to continue.

"Kerry!" Shannon almost screamed "just tell me what's going on".

"The little boy, Jack and the teenager, Lucy….they died"

Shannon felt as if someone had come and taken her breath away from her. She didn't know how to breathe; she felt tears welling up in her eyes.

"How?" she managed to ask, breathlessly.

"Lucy had a brain bleed and Jack just crashed again and couldn't be revived. The doctors believe it was a haemorrhage".

Kerry looked at her officer and saw the sadness and guilt all over Shannon's face.

"Shannon" Kerry said compassionately "none of this was your fault. You did all you could today….."

Shannon looked up at her boss angrily.

"Look Kerry just stop" Shannon instructed "how can you say that, of course it's my fault…..I should havE done more…."

"Shannon…."

"Look thank you for telling me" Shannon said quickly, cutting off her boss "but if you'll excuse me, I've got to be somewhere" and with that, Shannon turned around quickly and stalked out the door before Kerry could get another word in.

She walked a few paces down the corridor before stopping and leaning against the wall. She crouched down and started sobbing into her hands. Those two poor children had died in her hands. Two young lives gone…..how could she let that happen? It was entirely her fault. She couldn't control herself, she just kept sobbing uncontrollably. Suddenly she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder; she looked up and saw Lawson. He was crouched down in front of her, with a reassuring hand on her shoulder and a gentle and friendly smile on his face. His eyes just shined with comfort.

"Are you ok?" he asked her "what's happened?"

Shannon slowly explained what had happened, but at the end of her explanation, she couldn't help but burst out into tears again. Lawson couldn't help but placed his arms around her and pull her into a hug.

"It's all my fault" she cried into his chest. She liked the warm safe feeling he was giving her.

"shhh" Lawson comforted her "let go somewhere, we can have a proper chat" he suggested kindly.

"No no" Shannon said suddenly, breaking away from Lawson's embrace "I've got to go to the hospital, I've got to see Aaron, he'll want to know what happened".

"Aaron?"

"The father" Shannon explained, already taking a few steps towards the car park.

"Shan, I don't think that's such a good idea…." Lawson replied following her and grabbing her arm.

"Lawson" Shannon said in a threatening way, "I'm going, I've got to, do you know how this feels? Its eating me up inside. I at least owe it to him to tell him what happened today at the crash site".

Lawson thought about this for a second, Shannon was desperate, he could see it in her eyes, she was upset and obviously felt guilty, but he didn't want her going alone.

"Alright" he said finally, letting go of her arm. Shannon quickly continued to walk towards her car. Lawson ran up behind her and stopped her again.

"But I'm driving you"

Shannon opened her mouth to protest

"And don't even think about it" he said, shutting her up "I don't feel comfortable about letting you go alone, you're a wreck"

Shannon realised that she wasn't going to win this fight so she handed Lawson the car keys and quickly jumped into the passenger seat of her car.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

Shannon sat quietly in the car on the way to the hospital. She didn't know what she was going to say to Aaron. What do you say to a father who has lost his two children? But she felt that she needed to see him again, just to explain to him what had happened, she owed him that much.

As soon as they arrived at the hospital, Shannon went to the information desk and asked about an Aaron Matthews. The nurse must have heard about what had happened and gave Shannon and Lawson an 'I feel sorry for you look' as she told them which level to go to. Shannon felt so nervous in the pit of her stomach and her legs were shaking so much, that she had to lean against the wall of the lift to steady herself. Lawson saw this and gently took her arm to help support her.

"Maybe this isn't such a good idea…." He suggested.

"No" replied Shannon sternly "I need to do this" she gently shook herself away from Lawson and cleared her throat just as the lift doors opened onto the level where Aaron was. She walked to the nearest nurse's station and asked to be directed to the bed where Aaron was. The nurse's name was Mary and she asked Shannon what her relation to Aaron was, Shannon replied that she was a police officer and she wanted to talk to Aaron about the accident, just to explain things to him properly.

At first, Mary didn't think it was such a good idea for Shannon to visit Aaron, she said that he was very upset and devastated about what had happened. But hearing this just made Shannon want to see Aaron even more and eventually she persuaded Mary for just a 5 minute visit.

Lawson followed Shannon to the door of Aaron's room and told her he would wait outside the door if she needed his support.

Shannon thanked Lawson with a small smile and took a deep breath before walking inside the room.

Aaron was sitting up in the hospital bed looking blankly out the window. Shannon recognised the cuts and bruises on his face from the morning, but otherwise he was pale and emotionless, like someone had come and sucked the life out of him.

"I don't want anything" Aaron said blankly, continuing to look out the window, even his voice sounded hollow.

"Ah…no, Aaron, I'm not a nurse" Shannon explained, taking a few steps closer to the bed and trying to catch his gaze.

Aaron suddenly turned quickly and looked at Shannon. It hurt her deep inside to see the raw pain, sadness and rage that swirled in his blue eyes.

"Then who are you?" he demanded "I don't need a shrink" he added roughly.

"No no" Shannon smiled uncomfortably "I'm a police officer, I was at the scene today…at the accident".

Aaron swallowed heavily, trying to fight back the tears that were already welled in his eyes.

"Yeah" he nodded "I remember you, you came to help me, and I told you about the kids….in the back".

"Yeah, that's right" Shannon confirmed nodding "and I went around the back to Jack and helped him".

Suddenly to Shannon's surprise, Aaron started laughing, expect it was like he was half laughing and half crying- it was painful to hear.

"Expect you didn't help them did you?" he asked angrily, his eyes flashing with rage. "You killed them".

"What?" Shannon asked, shocked and hurt to hear these words.

"You killed them!" Aaron repeated, this time raising his voice a little. "You should've gone straight to them, Lucy needed you, her head was practically smashed through a window, but you just left her. Left her to _DIE!"_ Aaron spat.

"No…..n….nn…no….a…Aaron" Shannon tried to speak but felt tears welling in her eyes and a sob rising in her throat.

"Jack was only a little kid…6 years old….he was meant to grow up and play footy and ride a bike and do other things kids do….but now he's going to end up in a little coffin in the ground, cold and alone….and you know why? Because you let him die! You didn't help; you didn't do your job…..YOU LEFT HIM TO DIE‼! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"

Shannon didn't know what to do; she was frozen to the spot trying to make sense of what was happening.

But suddenly, Aaron ripped out all the needles and tubes in his arms and grabbed Shannon, pinning her against the wall with his hands tightly gripped around her throat.

Shannon let out a tiny squeal and scratched at Aaron's hands, trying to get him off her. She couldn't breathe, her throat was being crushed and her lungs couldn't fill with air. Her eyes were wide with fear as she looked into Aaron's big, angry ones.

"You're going to pay" he told her coldly "you've killed my children, so now I'll have to kill you".

Just then, out of the corner of her eye, Shannon saw Lawson run into the room and grab Aaron's arms, trying to pry them off her. Aaron let go off Shannon, who collapsed into a coughing heap on the ground, and turned to face Lawson. Aaron threw the first punch and got Lawson right in the nose. Lawson recovered within a few seconds and threw another punch, this time knocking Aaron onto the bed where Lawson managed to secure both of Aaron's arms in time for the doctors to come and give Aaron an anaesthetic.

Lawson left Aaron to the doctors and turned to see Shannon curled up in the corner of the room, sobbing quietly, with her arms wrapped tightly around herself, staring with wide, scared eyes at the floor.

Lawson rushed over to Shannon and put his arms around her, when she felt his warmth and safety, she finally broke down into heavy, violent sobs.

"Shhh shhh" Lawson comforted her, stroking her hair and planting a kiss on her forehead.

Shannon looked up at Lawson with her tear filled eyes

"Your nose" she said reaching up to touch the blood, as if she wasn't sure it was real. Lawson just took her hand and gave it a small kiss.

"Don't worry about me" he said gently and reassuringly "I'll be fine"

Shannon slowly placed her arms around Lawson and brought him closer to her. Lawson could feel that she was shaking. He stayed like this for a few more minutes but them decided it was time to take her home, away from all this.

"c'mon, we better go, let's get you home" he told her, starting to get up.

"NO" she protested, holding onto Lawson, pulling him back to her "I can't" she whispered to him, her wide eyes still filled with the fear.

Without thinking Lawson just placed his arms under her legs and picked her up. Shannon didn't react; she just buried her head into his chest and wrapped one arm around his neck. Lawson carried Shannon down the corridor, getting strange looks from all the nurses and doctors, but he just kept walking. Holding Shannon like this made that strange feeling in the pit of his stomach return, this time stronger. Now he really knew how he felt. He loved her….


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

**hope you enjoy and please remember to review****‼**

Lawson glanced at Shannon as she slept in the car on the way home. She still looked a little troubled but not as terrible as she had at the hospital. He was really worried about her; it had been like she had had a total breakdown. This accident was really getting to her.

But seeing her like this, had really confirmed that he still had feelings for her, for three years the feelings had been buried somewhere but had always been there. When they arrived at Shannon's house, Lawson got her keys out of her bag and used them to open the door before coming back, picking up Shannon and carrying her into the house and taking her to her bed. He placed her gently on the bed and covered her with the blankets before reaching down and planting a small kiss on her forehead. He turned to leave put felt someone grab his hand. He turned to see Shannon holding his hand, he tried to carefully pull away but Shannon just grabbed harder and pulled him closer with a small groan.

"Stay" she moaned.

Lawson didn't know what to do, Shannon probably didn't even know what she was saying, it had been an eventful day after all.

"Stay" she repeated, this time a little more forceful.

Lawson exhaled deeply before sitting on the bed and taking off his shoes. He slowly lay down next to Shannon. Suddenly, Shannon just snuggled up to him and rest her head on his chest. Before he knew it, Lawson was dozing off happily.

…..

Lawson woke up with a start. It took him a second to remember where he was. He turned his head and saw Shannon sleeping peacefully beside him; she was lying on her side, with her short brown hair all messed up and her arms resting on Lawson. He couldn't help but smile to himself, she didn't seem as troubled as yesterday but she was still pale and dark circles had appeared under her eyes. He glanced at the clock beside him, _6:05_, he knew he had to get to work; he still had to pop home and get ready. He decided to let Shannon sleep, after yesterday, she needed the day off, if not a few, he would let Kerry know when he got to the station. He carefully slid out of her grip and quietly put on his shoes before grabbing the car keys and slipping out the door without a sound.

…..

Lawson walked into the station and headed straight for Kerry's office. She was sitting down at the desk on the phone, she signalled to Lawson to wait a second while she finished up.

"Ok thanks" Kerry told the person on the phone, before hanging up. "What's this I hear about Shannon going to the hospital to see that Matthews guy? He attacked her?"

Lawson nodded "I was going to talk to you about that…."

"What happened? Where you there?" Kerry asked, getting more and more confused.

"Yeah" Lawson said "she was really upset about the kids and everything and she just wanted to see Aaron, the father, to explain to him what had happened".

"Yeah ok, I can understand that" Kerry replied "but how did she get attacked?"

"I'm not too sure, I was outside the room, waiting for Shannon but suddenly there was all this noise and then I heard Shannon squeal and I run in and Matthews has her pinned against the wall, by the throat. We got into a little scuffle and he punched me in the nose"

"Yeah I can see that" scoffed Kerry pointing to Lawson's nose "you've still got a little dried blood".

"Oh" Lawson replied, placing a hand over his nose. "Anyways" he continued "I ended up taking Shannon home, but she was really messed up, I think she might need a few days off work…"

"Why don't you let me decide that?" came a voice behind him. Lawson turned to see Shannon standing in the doorway behind him. She still had the dark spots under her eyes, but she didn't look as pale as she had in the morning. She smiled at Lawson and walked inside the office and greeted Kerry with a friendly smile.

"How are you Shannon?" Kerry asked her officer, concerned "I heard what happened yesterday".

"Yeah, I'm ok, feeling a little better" she replied, giving Kerry an appreciative smile.

"Ok, are you ok to keep working?"

"I think I might take today off, I'm still a little shook up" Shannon explained.

"Yeah, sure, that's fine, I understand, take all the time you need" Kerry told her "if you need anything, just ask".

"Thanks Kerry, appreciate it" she said, turning around and facing Lawson. She gave him another smile and walked out the door. Lawson was frozen to the stop for a second. It was like Shannon had done a complete 180 and was almost back to her normal self, well at least better than she was yesterday. Suddenly he ran out of Kerry's office and followed Shannon down the hall. He grabbed her hand and turned her around to face him.

"Are you ok Shan?" he asked her, concerned.

"Yes Lawson! I'm fine"

"Really?" Lawson asked anxiously, "it's just that after yesterday and stuff…."

"Yeah I know, and I'm sorry for everything...but thank you for rescuing me and taking me back home"

"_Doesn't she remember last night?" _Lawson asked himself.

Suddenly Shannon put her arms around Lawson and brought him into a hug.

"Thank you, you were my hero" she whispered into his ear. She drew back and planted a little kiss on his cheek before giving him one last smile and turning around walking back towards the car park.

Lawson couldn't help but feel his cheeks burning up. He stood frozen as he watched her walk away.

…

Shannon was walking down the corridor and smiling to herself as she remembered the events of last night. She had woken up at 4 in the morning to find Lawson lying beside her. She felt safe and comfortable with him being there with her. He had been her hero at the hospital. She had always felt something for Lawson. She thought she was over it when she was transferred to the AFP, and even when she had recently joined TR, she tried convincing herself that there wasn't anything there. However, after Lawson had supported and helped her yesterday, she felt those hidden and forgotten feelings returning.

Suddenly the sound of a text on her phone, brought her out of her thoughts.

She slide her phone open and opened the new text.

"_I told you that you will pay…BEWARE__‼__"_

**Please tell me what you think…..REVIEW! if you have any suggestions…please feel free to give them to me…I always welcome them. **


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

**I know that this chapter is a little short but I want there to be more action in the next chapter. Please remember to review. **

Shannon felt herself freeze as she read the text again. She knew who sent the text, but she wondered how he got her number…

Suddenly she felt two hands grab her shoulders. She couldn't help but jump and let out a squeal as she turned around to face the person behind her.

"Hey!" Leon exclaimed, putting his hands up "sorry, didn't mean to scare you, I thought you heard me coming, I called your name".

Shannon tried to laugh, but knew that she sounded nervous; she could tell by Leon's facial expression that he thought the same thing.

"Hey, are you alright Shannon?" he asked her concerned. "you seem…"

"Yeah I'm fine" Shannon said quickly, trying to sound convincing "listen, do you know where Lawson is?" she asked.

"Yeah, he was just loading up TR 2" Leon answered her, pointing behind her towards the cars.

"Ok thanks" Shannon replied, trying to get away from Leon as quickly as possible, she wanted to show Lawson the text. After yesterday, she knew that she could trust him to help her with the whole situation.

"Ok thanks Leon" she added quickly, "I'll see you later" she gave Leon a quick smile, turned and continued down the corridor, towards the car park. There she found Lawson packing bags into the back of the car. When he saw her coming, he gave her a smile but she didn't return it. He already knew that something wasn't quite right and took a few steps towards her.

She stopped in front of him and looked up at him with a worried face.

"Hey" Lawson said putting a hand on her shoulder, "what is it, has something happened?" he asked her concerned. Shannon didn't reply, she just pulled out her phone and handed it to Lawson. He took it, confused but when he read the text message, his facial expression turned to anger.

"When did u get this?" he asked her.

"Just a few minutes ago" she replied quietly.

"How did..."

"How did he get my number?" Shannon finished for him. "I honestly don't know, but Lawson, I'm really scared" she added, her voice quivering.

Lawson saw the tears in her eyes and pulled Shannon into a comforting hug. Shannon buried her head into Lawson chest and took in his familiar scent. She felt better being close to Lawson.

"It's going to be ok, I'll make sure he doesn't get to you" Lawson told her as he rested his head on hers. They stayed like this for a few more seconds before Lawson gently pulled away and looked down at Shannon's face. She had tears running down her face.

"Look I really need to get out there, I've still got to pick up Josh, he's got some car problem" he told her "but if you don't feel like going home, stay here with Leon and I'll be back soon, then we can do something, ok?"

Shannon sniffled and nodded; Lawson took her hand and squeezed it, giving her a reassuring smile before turning and getting in the car, driving away.

Shannon watched as the car drove out of the driveway and down the street before quickly sniffling and wiping away the tears on her face. She turned around and walked towards the Intel room, where Leon worked.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

"You wanna get a beer or something mate?" Josh asked Lawson as they drove into the station at the end of their shift.

"Nah mate, sorry I'm busy, maybe another time?" Lawson replied.

"You got a date or something?" Josh asked smiling.

"That's my business" Lawson told him, pulling the hand brake and taking the keys out of the car. "Why don't you just focus on unpacking the car, I'll be right back" he added, turning around and walking away.

"Whatever you say, lover boy" Josh called after him.

Lawson just gave Josh the finger over his shoulder and continued down the corridor towards the Intel room. Leon was sitting facing the computer screens, giving some instructions to someone over the radio. Lawson had a quick look around, trying to find Shannon; he ducked his head into the locker room and the kitchen but couldn't find her anywhere.

He walked back to Leon and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Oi, Leon, where Shannon?" Lawson asked.

"I don't know" Leon grumbled in response, still looking at the screens and typing something on the keyboard.

"Well wasn't she here with you today?" Lawson asked again, getting irritated and worried. "I told her to stay here with you".

Leon turned around and looked at Lawson, his face annoyed and tired. "She was here for a few hours after you left this morning but then she said she had something to do and just left".

"Well didn't you ask her where she was going?" Lawson persisted.

"Lawson" Leon said angrily "I've had a busy day today ok, I didn't have time to babysit Shannon and _NO_ I didn't ask her where she was going"

Lawson felt like retaliating but just closed his mouth and focused on finding Shannon. He gave Leon one last glare and turned around, stalking out of the room towards his car. He pulled out his mobile and speed dialled Shannon.

"_Hi, you've reached Senior Constable Shannon Henry, I'm…" _

Lawson slammed his phone shut his phone shut and let out an annoyed groan and walked into the change room to get changed, he was going to drive around and find Shannon before something bad happened. He had seen yesterday just how determined this Matthew's guy was to get his revenge.

He stormed into the change rooms and found Josh and Stella sitting down, chatting and laughing, they looked up at Lawson as he walked in but went back to talking almost straight away. Lawson quickly unbuttoned his shirt and pulled out his sweater and put it on.

"Where are you off to in such a rush?" Stella asked in a playful tone.

"He's got a date" Josh answered with a wink.

"Ohh, it's about time you got a girlfriend Lawson, but a proper one, that blonde journalist was a cow".

"Uh huh" Lawson replied mindlessly as he quickly grabbed his keys and phone, stuffed them in his pockets and slammed the locker door shut. "See ya" he quickly said behind him as he walked out.

"What's up with him?" Stella asked.

"Love sick" Josh replied in mock seriousness. It was quiet for a few seconds before they both erupted into fits of laughter.

…

Lawson pulled up outside Shannon house and jumped out of the car. There were no lights on inside and all the blinds were closed. He quickly knocked on the door a few times and waited for a response. Nothing. He knocked again but there was also no response. Groaning again in frustration, he pulled out his mobile again and dialled Shannon. After a few rings, someone picked up the receiver.

"Shannon?" Lawson asked concerned.

"Yeah it me Lawson" she replied, but she didn't sound the same as this morning.

"Finally! Where did you go today? I told you to stay with Leon, I've been calling but you haven't picked up your phone, I got worried".

"Yeah I'm sorry about that, listen I can't talk over the phone for long, but can I come over to yours, I need to talk to you about something….it's important".

"Is everything alright?" he asked, confused and worried about what she had just said.

"Look I can't talk over the phone" she repeated, getting annoyed, "I'll meet you at your house in 10" and with that, the receiver went dead.

**Please review! I know that this chapter is a little short but I wanted to finish on a little cliffhanger. So what do you think? What does Shannon need to tell Lawson? Stay tuned****‼**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9:

**Sorry it's been forever since my last update but it's been hectic so please enjoy this chapter and remember to REVIEW****‼****! **

Lawson arrived home to find Shannon's car waiting outside. He could see her figure sitting in the car. He got out of his car and went to open the front door; he heard a car door behind him close and saw that Shannon was walking towards him.

"Hey" he greeted her as he opened the door.

"Hi" she replied wrapping her arms around herself and following Lawson inside into the living room.

"You want a cuppa" he asked as he watched her plunk herself on his couch.

"Nah I'm ok" she replied with a small smile.

"Ok" he said sitting down opposite her "what's this all about Shannon?" he asked her.

Shannon took a big, shaky breath and began speaking.

"I went to the cemetery today" she explained, her voice breaking "to see Lucy and Jack Matthews" she said wobbly. "I saw their graves; I saw their dates of birth and dead engraved on their headstones. I saw the words, 'tragically died too young'. I saw the stacks of flowers and toys on their graves. I saw their smiling innocent faces in the picture frames" Shannon couldn't take it anymore; she just burst out in heavy, painful sobs.

Lawson sat there for a second, stunned at what Shannon had just told him but when he heard Shannon crying, his heart was heavy. He stood up and went and sat next to her. He put his arm around her shoulder and brought her closer to him. She buried her face in his chest and Lawson felt her body shake as she sobbed.

Lawson waited a second before he gently pulled Shannon any from him and looked into her eyes reassuringly.

"None of this was your fault" he told her, giving her shoulder a gently squeeze. "I understand why you feel bad, but this isn't your fault, don't listen to what the Matthews guys says, you did _everything _you could to help those kids. There was nothing else you could do for them".

"Ok" Shannon said nodding and wiping away a tear "thank you….for everything Lawson, I really appreciate you being here for me".

"It's ok, I care about you" he said slowly, looking deeply into her blue eyes.

Shannon slowly leaned over towards Lawson and kissed him on his lips. Lawson welcomed her kiss and kissed her more passionately. Before they knew it the kisses got more fierce and quick and in between breaths, Shannon started to unbutton Lawson's shirt. This brought Lawson back to reality.

"Wait" he stopped her, taking her wrists.

"What?" she asked, giving him a puzzled look "don't you want this?" she asked a hurt look in her eyes.

"Of course" he replied quickly "but this is a good time, I mean you're vulnerable and upset and…"

Suddenly Shannon leaned in again and planted a kiss on his lips. She drew back and looked into his eyes, with a happy grin pasted on her face.

"Lawson" she told him "I've wanted this ever since I've joined TR".

That's all Lawson needed to hear and he unbuttoned the rest of his shirt gave her another hot passionate kiss. Suddenly Lawson picked Shannon up; she squealed in delight and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, giving him another kiss. Lawson carried her into the bedroom, closing the door behind them.

….

Lawson woke up the next morning and saw Shannon peacefully sleeping next to him. She looked do calm and worry free that he couldn't help but smile. He glanced at his alarm clock and saw that he had half an hour to get to work.

"Shit" he exclaimed throwing the covers off him.

Shannon stirred next to him and slowly woke up. She just opened her eyes and saw Lawson sitting on the edge of the bed, pulling his shorts on.

"Hey" she said, rubbing her eyes and stretching happily.

"Hey" he replied, turning and looking at her. "I'm sorry" he apologised "I didn't mean to wake you".

"It's alright" she laughed "I just heard you swear, what's wrong?" she asked sitting up against the head rest.

"Our shift starts in half an hour" he told her, standing up and heading towards the bathroom.

"Shit!" she also exclaimed, quickly getting out of the bed and grabbing the nearest piece of clothing, which was Lawson shirt.

"I'll have a quick shower and then you can jump in ok?" Lawson suggested, already half way to the bathroom.

"Alright" Shannon replied with a smile.

…

Lawson turned off the water in the shower and grabbed his towel. He got out of the shower and couldn't help but freeze when he saw Shannon standing in the room, looking into the mirror, still wearing his shirt. He couldn't help but think that she looked gorgeous. Shannon had obviously seen his smile because she turned around and returned the grin.

"Lawson" she began, the smile disappearing as quickly as it had come "is this weird? Are you still ok working with me after last night?" she asked seriously.

"Shannon" he sighed "I enjoyed last night" he said, and couldn't help but smile playfully "and I'm fine with all of this, I've wanted it for a long time".

"Well in that case" Shannon said huskily taking a few steps forwards so that she was once a few centimetres away from Lawson "I'm totally fine with it too" and with that she wrapped her arms around Lawson neck and brought him closer into a passionate kiss.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10:

Shannon and Lawson quietly walked into the station half an hour later. They walked side by side and didn't look at each other. They had agreed to keep last night quiet from everyone. They both entered the locker room to find the rest of the team already there, getting ready for their next shift.

"Hey" Stella greeted her friend with a smile "Where were you?" she asked curiously, raising an eyebrow.

"Ah…." Shannon started, unsure of what excuse to use.

"Shannon had car troubles" Lawson finished for her "I had to pick her up".

"Right" Stella replied with a small mischievous smile.

"Why don't you guys go get the cars ready?" Lawson suggested quickly. "We'll be out in a sec".

"Sure" Josh replied leading Stella, Michael and Christian out of the locker room, leaving Shannon and Lawson together.

"Thanks" Shannon said "close one" she giggled softly.

"Yeah" Lawson laughed as he did up the last button on his shirt and tucked it into his pants. "Let's just try to be….._casual_ during this shift" he suggested. "You know what Stella's like, she can sniff these things out like crazy"

Shannon couldn't help but laugh and nod in agreement. She took a few steps forward and stopped in front of Lawson. She gave him a seductive smile.

"Whatever you say Senior Sergeant" she told him before planting a slow kiss on his lips, without waiting for this his reaction, she turned and walked off towards the cars.

Lawson was frozen, he couldn't help but stare after Shannon…."_God she's HOT…her body…._" flashes of last night flew into his head but suddenly he shook himself out of the day dream, "_got work to do!" _He sternly told himself "_just focus on work…..and getting through the day" _he added_._

….

Shannon couldn't help but smile to herself as she stared out the window. She was sitting in the back seat of TR1 with Christian and Stella. She couldn't help but recall last night with Lawson. He had made her so happy and she always felt safe and comfortable around him. She was also really glad that he felt the same way about her.

"What are you so happy about?" Stella asked, turning around in the passenger's seat and looking at her friend.

Shannon quickly wiped the grin off her face. She remembered Lawson's warning about their co-worker's excellent way of finding out about everything.

"Nothing" Shannon quickly replied, wiping the smile away. Luckily Leon's voice interrupted before Stella could get another word in.

"_Guys, we got a situation down at the docklands, some guy with a weapon, waving it around, throwing insults and threats around. Seems either drunk or on drugs" _

"Ok thanks Leon, we're on it" Stella replied into her radio. "Lawson did you get that?" she asked into her microphone.

"_Yeah we got it, we'll be there in 10, so you'll be there first, Shannon you take primary negotiator, Stell and Christian back her up and try to isolate this guy. We don't want him waving the weapon around and hurting someone, especially IF he is just drunk or out of it". _

"Copy that" Shannon replied.

Christian flicked the switches for lights and sirens and they drove off towards the docks.

…..

As TR1 arrived at the docks, Shannon spotted the man with the gun. He was an average sized man with a cap on. She could see the rifle he was holding but he had his back to her and she couldn't see his face. They stopped the car and got out quickly and put on their bulletproof vests.

"Stella, Christian, I'll go behind those trees near him and see if I can talk to him. Christian you go around the other side and hide behind that fountain. Stella you try and clear as many people as you can" Shannon instructed into her coms so that Lawson and TR2 could hear the plan.

"_Copy that" _they both replied.

Shannon crept behind the trees and looked out. The man still had his back to her and was waving the rifle around. He was singing and Shannon could tell he was drunk but he kept moving around so she couldn't see his face properly.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that TR2 had arrived. She concentrated back on the man and had her weapon ready.

"Leon" Shannon instructed into her coms "see if you can get any CCTV and identify this guy, he keeps turning his back to me and I can't get a look of his face".

"_Copy that"_

"Excuse me sir" Shannon shouted to the man from behind the tree. He seemed to ignore her and just continued singing and waving the rifle around. "Excuse me" she repeated, this time more loudly "we are the police, we are here to help, can you tell me what the problem is?".

Suddenly the sound of three shots filled the air. The man had just let them off without warning, but the strange thing was that, instead of reacting, he just kept singing drunkenly and waving his hands around.

"_Shannon" _Lawson said into his coms "_what's going on over there? Why did he shoot?" _

"I don't know" she replied "he just discharged for no reason. I don't actually think he realised that he did it".

"_Alright, I'm coming over" _

"Law…." she was about to exclaim but suddenly froze to the spot.

The man had turned around and was staring Shannon square in the eyes.

"_Shannon?" _Lawson asked into his coms, hearing her start to say something.

Silence

"_Shannon?" _he repeated again, getting worried at her lack of response. "_Shannon are you there? Do you read me?" _

"_Any of you guys see Shannon; do you know what her position is?" _Lawson asked the rest of his team into his coms.

"_No, I haven't got her" _Stella replied.

"_Either" _Josh added.

"_I see her" _Christian said_ "she looks like she poking out from behind a tree, but she looks like she's just standing there, she isn't moving". _

"_Shannon?" _Lawson tried again, getting more and more concerned and agitated. "_Answer me!" _

"Lawson" he heard her whisper through his earpiece. "It's Aaron, Aaron Matthews".

Suddenly a fourth gunshot rang out and Lawson heard a scream. A female scream.


End file.
